This invention relates to sound control building material and, more particularly, to a sound-damping concrete building block.
Techniques for damping sound within buildings have included the practice of installing sound damping materials such as asbestos onto the inner wall surface. The installation of such materials is both costly and time consuming and diminishes the interior dimensions of the building.
Proposals have been made in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,660,745; 2,007,130; and 2,933,146 for incorporating sound absorbing features within building blocks. These proposals are each characterized by essentially filling the inner cavity or cavities of a building block with insulative material, and providing openings on that side wall of the block which is intended to face the internal space of the building. While such proposals are advantageous in diminishing the level of noise within the building, substantial room for improvement remains.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel masonry building block which effectively dampens sound.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel masonry block which effectively captures and dampens sound waves of different frequencies.